‘Gov't needs counterpart for democratization efforts’

The minister complained that organizations the government has attempted to talk to as legitimate counterparts in discussions about the government's democratization plan have in some instances said the government should be talking to other parties, not them.

Atalay on Friday said the government attaches special importance to having a legitimate party to talk to in Parliament. At the opening remarks of the Abant Platform meeting in Ankara, Atalay stressed that they are very hopeful for the normalization of Turkey. The Abant Platform, which regularly convenes to discuss some of the most vital issues of Turkey and the world with the participation of individuals from every segment of society, titled the meeting “Democratization for a New Societal Consensus.” The two-day discussion series at Ankara's Rixos Hotel will continue today as well.

Atalay, the chief coordinator for the government’s democratization initiative, launched to solve Turkey’s decades-old Kurdish question, underlined that to hold such a meeting and discussions at a time when Turkey is planning to pass constitutional amendments is very meaningful.

Interior Minister Beşir Atalay

“In the name of improving our democracy, such a meeting was organized by the platform. I think the meeting will be productive and that its results will be conveyed to Parliament,” Atalay said.

Right party to talk to

He added that they attach great importance to having a party to talk to in Parliament. “Such a party to talk to is important for us. We thought this before. Our prime minister during those days talked to the now-defunct Democratic Society Party [DTP] leader. We perceived them as the party to talk to. But we think that our counterpart in this issue should be able to stand in front of us and be able to say, ‘We are the party to talk to’,” Atalay said.

The pro-Kurdish DTP, closed by the Constitutional Court and replaced by the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) at the beginning of the democratization initiative, underlined that since the aim of the government is to eliminate the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and not them, the PKK is the party to talk to. The pro-Kurdish party also said Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, was the person to talk to for the government’s democratization initiative.

“We wish for a political party that will talk to us and will not refer us to another addressee. We attach great importance to having a legitimate party to talk to in Parliament,” Atalay said. The minister was referring to the DTP asking the government to talk to PKK leader Öcalan instead of the DTP regarding the Kurdish issue. He added that the top priority for the government is democratization and that in their all programs they underline social problems more than the economy.

Regarding the democratization initiative Atalay said they are continuing the process with determination. “It is very important to act with courage and decisiveness. It is impossible to make progress without talking. Emotional reactions are fewer now; a rationalist approach is gaining ground. Some people labeled us ‘traitors.’ But there is no need to fear division; Turkey cannot be divided. Turkey is not the old Turkey,” he said.

The two-day Abant Platform meeting will continue today, discussing governmental efforts for the settlement of Turkey’s chronic problems through democratic and peaceful methods.

Atalay underlined that the European Union harmonization and democratization processes are affecting each other positively. He said new domestic mechanisms are assisting in the democratization process, which has won international support.

“Our target is to raise the standards of democracy and the rule of law,” Atalay said.

Levent Köker, the term chairperson of the Abant Platform board of directors, in his opening remarks said the platform is an arena of freedom in which people with different intellectual, cultural and political views are able to express themselves.

He added that during the last 10 years, due to reforms, great steps were taken for democratization, which cannot be the subject of any kind of bargaining.

Another prominent figure who delivered an opening speech was the leader of the Felicity Party (SP), Numan Kurtulmuş. He said Turkey’s main problem in starting a process of “restoration” and the first step of such a process is a new constitution. “The Parliament we have is the legitimate Parliament and can make constitutional changes,” he said, adding that the Constitutional Court put itself in the position of a de facto senate and that their party is ready to help to change this situation.

“Recently taken steps are important for democratization; we applaud them,” he said. The chairman of the Grand Unity Party (BBP), Yalçın Topçu, in his opening remarks underlined that they want democracy without interruption. “We are ready to support the steps which will be taken for this aim,” he said.

Structural requirements

The first session of the discussions concentrated on the “structural requirements for democratization.” Under the moderation of retired jurist Ümit Kardaş, academics Tanel Demirel and Köker and Constitutional Court rapporteur Osman Can gave presentations.

Demirel underlined that democracy requires a culture and values that attach importance to freedoms and respecting the rights of others. But he underlined that in non-democratic systems such a culture is not developed. He added that in Turkey, this awareness has not yet been developed, although there are some developments in this respect.

He also underlined that democracies are fragile systems and that to say there will be no problems is naive. Can in his presentation underlined that a judicial system does not automatically mean freedom and that likewise, a non-democratic system can be based on a judiciary.

“Turkey does not have its own constitution,” Can said, adding that the recent reforms which Turkey realized have not yet been implemented because the judicial mechanism has yet to adopt them.

Köker in his presentation elaborated on the system of tutelage and its philosophical roots. He said the system of tutelage presents itself as the system that will remain in place until society is ready to govern itself but that the actors of the system are also the ones who will decide when society is ready to govern.